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httpmacauwu · 4 months ago

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--> || ❝ I’m The Favorite! ❞

Reverse! Isekai/SAGAU || Warnings: fluff, some crack :3, gender neutral reader

[ Reverse Isekai with the genshin boys !! A day out for the first time since they were somehow transported into your world… ] [word count: 1.9k]

Character(s): NEUVILLETTE, WRIOTHESLEY, ITTO, KAEYA, DILUC, CHILDE, KAVEH, XIAO, AL HAITHAM

“Your Grace, with all due respect… THIS ISN’T FAIR AT ALL!”

“I understand what you’re saying Venti but I can’t bring all 20-something of you outside… 8 people is already too much! An average friend group has around 3-4 people and I’m bringing double that! I promise I’ll take the rest of you out some other day.”

Hearing consecutive sighs of disappointment, you turn to look at the rest of the men. They were visibly upset. It’s not that you DON’T want to bring them all outside! Really! It’s just that some… or, most, of them have features that would stand out in a public setting. Take Gorou and Tighnari for example! Their ears could maybe be hidden for some minutes at a time using a hood or beanie, but what about their tails? Not to mention ITTO. He literally has the most red, obvious horns.

You did your best to make them look somewhat normal. Kaveh and Wanderer could pass as a normal citizen if you removed some accessories, but characters like Diluc and Neuvillette couldn’t. So it was up to you to dress them up! Yayyy!!!

No. This was NOT an easy job. Diluc’s bright red hair couldn’t be hidden no matter how hard you tried. Neuvillette’s long hair could maybe pass as normal... maybe. His horns though? I guess you’ll have to go with the “Oh! Why are they dressed like that? Well you see, my friends just left a cosplay convention a while ago. They look cool right? Yeah.” Excuse.

You gave them what you had left in your closet. What did fit them were sweats, loose pants, pajamas and some old shirts. It was odd not seeing them in their usual complex and pretty outfits. The buffer and more muscular characters looked (not surprisingly) attractive in your shirts… they were tight just around the right spots. They noticed your eyes in their direction with your face ever so slightly flushed, but decided to not say anything about it. ( THEY KNOW.)

─ִ━━ ꯭ ───ׂ─ִ─ ͜͡✿͜͡ ─ִ──ׂ── ꯭ ━━ִ─

With the boys dressed up and ready, it was finally time to head out! The people you brought with you were: Neuvillette, Wriothesley, Kaeya, Diluc, Childe, Kaveh, Xiao and Al Haitham.

Xiao insisted on being the one to “protect you”. Denying his request felt awkward for some reason…

Kaveh had been interested in the simple and strangely large buildings cramped next to each other. You wouldn’t be so mean to deny his request to go see some of them in person right?

Al Haitham was interested about your world and wanted to learn more about it, maybe he’d find some books that weren’t all fiction and romance.

You’d feel bad if you only brought one Ragnvindr brother.. so you brought both. You also didn’t want to hear Kaeya bickering with Diluc about him going out on a “date” (it wasn’t.) with the Creator.

Neuvillette and Wriothesley look a bit intimidating so maybe they’d scare people off. Who would’ve known you’d have two scary looking men protecting and looking after you?

And Childe….. well he’s Childe. He was stuck to your hip.

You didn’t really know where to go.. The park? A restaurant? A supermarket? All of these options were a bit difficult since they’re usually filled with people. Of course, no matter where you go there’s likely to be people, but it’d be easier to not have to be completely and utterly aware of every stranger around you in fear that they might find out who the men you brought with you actually are. Your only option was to ask them if they had an idea or if they wanted to visit an area.

“Oh! Can we go to one of those food places you’ve talked about before? What is it called.. uh.. curly… curly fries..?”

“Jack in the Box. The name is Jack in the Box, Childe.” Wriothesley remembers every little thing you talked to yourself about when the only way they were able to feel you was through a screen. All of them would listen to you talk about a movie you watched, something funny that happened, or gossip that was spreading around your school or workplace. Anything.

You let out a small chuckle at their conversation. Their recommendation isn’t bad you think. All they’ve been eating is whatever you had back at home, since ordering takeout for more than 20 people would be wayyyyy too expensive.

So a fast food restaurant it is!

─ִ━━ ꯭ ───ׂ─ִ─ ͜͡✿͜͡ ─ִ──ׂ── ꯭ ━━ִ─

The walk there was…. tedious. Childe was trying his best to not wander off, he really was! But there was so many new things he’d never seen before, so it’s not his fault. Neuvillette was probably the calmest out of everyone. He was right by your side following your lead. Maybe holding onto your arm once or twice.. on accident! (it wasn’t) Xiao was observing his surroundings a little too hard.. yeah this is all new to him, but I guess he was serious about protecting you. Though you didn’t really need it with 7 tall men around you.

“Mortals… The need for human interaction is what makes them weak.”

Diluc and Kaeya would not SHUT UP. If you passed by a bar, Kaeya would ask if he could go in, just for a second! He just wants to see how different they are from the ones in Mondstadt, really. Diluc would follow up with “You’re no better than that… that drunkard Venti.”

Kaveh would stop mid-street to look at the buildings...

“These buildings are so… long. How do they hold up so much weight? It’s impressive! What would they need so many floors for though… Why is there a man’s face as the logo in that restaurant? Oh! He’s glowing?”

“If you get ran over by one of those vehicles it’ll be your fault.”

“Huh? Al Haitham! YOUR GRACE! Wait for me!”

─ִ━━ ꯭ ───ׂ─ִ─ ͜͡✿͜͡ ─ִ──ׂ── ꯭ ━━ִ─

The next problem was choosing what to eat. Ordering food for 8 people, not including yourself, was expensive. You knew that! But you didn’t mentally prepare for the bill.

“Oh god…”

“Your Grace? Is something wrong?”

“It’s nothing you need to worry about. Eat up! We can go somewhere else after this if you want.”

You had realized that a woman had passed by your table countless times. She was very obviously staring at the men, looking almost flustered? Oh, she must think they’re attractive.

……

SHE THINKS THEYRE ATTRACTIVE??!

Okay. Thats okay. As long as she doesn’t ask for their numb—

“Uh-uhm.. excuse me, sir. Can I have your number? Or.. just Instagram is fine too.” She was staring directly at Wriothesley. You should’ve known letting him go out in a tight shirt and loose pants would’ve attracted more people.

“Uhh.. Pardon me, ma’am. Number…? As in… prisoner number..?” The Duke had an obvious confused and conflicted look on his face.

“Huh?”

“Aha.. ha… forgive him. He’s taken! So he can’t give out his number to just anyone.”

“Oh.. S-sorry. Forgive me I’ll just— I’ll get going.“ She was very obviously embarrassed over this whole ordeal.

“What did she mean by number, your grace?”

“Don’t… don’t worry about it…”

The group of men began to eat. (Neuvillette ordered a cup of iced water and Xiao didn’t eat anything.)

“Your Grace, there’s some food on the corner of your mouth.. Here. Let me help.” As Kaeya was about to reach his hand and wipe off the food with his thumb, there was thud on the window next to your table. Huh? It’s Itto.

It’s Itto?

“WHAT THE HELL. HOW DID HE GET HERE!?” You whispered screamed as turned to Itto. Did he follow you here? Was he here this whole time????

Through the glass Itto was saying something. His voice was muffled but you could make some things out.

“Your Grace! Don’t let this… this BUFFOON touch you! I, Arataki Itto will volunteer instead!”

You let out a loud sigh. You had to go get him… imagine seeing a tall, buff man with white hair and what looks like horns with a black hoodie up against a restaurants window…

Yeah that looks weird from an outsiders view.

You signal to the rest of the men to follow you out. When you got outside you wanted to tell Itto to never do something like that again… but he looked so sad, almost like a kicked puppy.

“Sorry Your Grace… I just wanted to accompany you! I might have gotten a teenyyy tinyyyy bit distracted on the way. You never told me there was so many cool lookin’ beetles in your world! There was one that that was very small and red with black spots, probably not useful for beetle fighting though. And I also saw some… uh.. not to disrespect anyone but there was a really weird lookin’ dog..”

SIGHHHHHH. You started to wonder what would have happened if he really had gotten lost, or what if someone recognized him? The thought of losing one of the men scared you. Would you be to blame if one of them never made it back to Teyvat?

“Itto… I love you and everything, but never do something like this again. What if we never found you? What would have happened then? I think we should head back home..”

Itto was on the verge of tears. He’s had more beans thrown at him than he could count, but nothing ever hurt as much as this.

It took Itto a while to process that you had also said you loved him.

“M’ bad Your Grace.. I won’t follow you next time… but, I love you too Your Grace!!”

The men turned to him SO FAST?? Xiao was about to take his spear out, Al Haitham looked DISGUSTED. Kaveh and Childe’s jaws were wide OPEN.

“DUDE YOU CAN’T JUST SAY THAT!”

“Childe’s right, we all love Our Grace, not just you.” Diluc only said this because he wanted to be the one to say “I love you”, but you didn’t need to know that. If it was for anything else he would never agree with a harbinger.

“That doesn’t even make sense! Why can’t I love and appreciate our beloved Creator? You guys are all just mad that I, the Number One Oni, Arataki Itto, am Your Grace’s FAVORITE.”

“WHAT? NO! Your Grace is that true?”

How many sighs have you let out today? This must be a full time job because you just let out another sigh.

“No, it’s not. I love all of you equally! Don’t start any problems with each other in public, please… We should be heading home anyways. Look at the sky, the sun will set soon.”

Almost in synch, the men respond “Yes, Your Grace!”

Seeing them like this made you feel all happy and giddy… It was nice seeing them together with you in the picture. You smiled at them and they just stared. They waited for you to turn around before looking at each other almost competitively. It was clear that each and every one of them wanted you for themselves in some way.

─ִ━━ ꯭ ───ׂ─ִ─ ͜͡✿͜͡ ─ִ──ׂ── ꯭ ━━ִ─

It was finally time to head home!!! After one long and exhausting day, you finally made it back.

The rest of the men were waiting patiently for you (Venti, Wanderer, Lyney and Heizou had to be held back by Albedo, Dainsleif and Pierro.)

“*SNIFF* AUGH.. YOUR GRACE! *SNIFF* WE MISSED YOU SO MUCH!”

“Hi, Venti… I missed you all too..” Venti’s arms were wrapped tightly around you, while he cried onto your shoulder.

“Your Grace, you’re here!” Thoma looked.. tired. Just what happened while you were gone? You decided to ask just incase.

“Hi Thoma, and everyone else. Did anything happen while me and the others were gone?” You had a gut feeling that something happened… they were unusually quiet… too quiet.

“A fight broke out between The Puppet and Cyno.”

“WHAT??”

AAAAAHHHHHHH thank you so much for 200 notes on my last fic omg y’all got me giggling to myself and spinning in my bed stop.. First long fic!!1!1! I plan on making little comic based off of the “The Creator has a.. LOVER?!” fic with the Zhongli and Venti scene with reader!! Yayyy! I Hope u guys enjoy this AUGH it makes me so happy to see people liking my noob writing thats really just me writing my thought and daydreams ilyily

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httpmacauwu · 4 months ago

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Insatiable Madness (13)

|Sagau Yandere Fatui Harbingers x Reader|

Progress then no progress, progress then no progress... You're beginning to grow sick of this, aren't you?

Reader is Gender Neutral!

You shut the door behind you, taking the last bite of your chocolate bar and scrunching up the plastic to put in the bin later.

“AH! Capitano, you scared me! Don’t just stand there and say nothing, the least you could do is greet us!” You jumped back, flinching forwards in pain when feeling the door handle dig into one of your hip bones.

“I was going to, but didn’t get the chance. Anyway, welcome back. Nothing changed whilst the two of you were out.”

“Thank you, whatever is looking out for me right now.” You silently prayed in gratitude. “I’ll be going back to my room.”

“Don’t cause trouble.” Arlecchino eyed you, walking away to somewhere else in the house.

“Damn, I wasn’t that bad company, was I?” You questioned yourself, mumbling death threats whilst walking up the stairs towards your room.

What should you do now? Although you should probably be finishing the clean-up of merch, now that you think about it, you’re way too lazy to continue. You’ll probably just pick up where you left off the next time you feel especially disturbed by it. Anyway, today has been alright so far, very positive actually. If you ignored the fact that you were being held hostage, you could even call it good. Apart from failing to ask for help when there was a clear opportunity of course. Sure, you were most likely being followed by another harbinger, but you still could’ve thought of something!

Oh well, you’re back home now. You should stop worrying about things that have already happened, there’s no use doing so when in your situation. Let’s think about what to do next.

You sat down on your desk chair, pushing the keyboard away from the edge of the desk and grabbing your notepad which you effortlessly threw in front of you. After flipping through a few scribbled pages, you found a clean page ready to be written on.

Okay, so, you have some of the Harbinger’s working and supporting the house now. At least this guarantees the house won’t starve. As much as you hate to admit it, Pulcinella was right. Having their wages will definitely help things. But what should you do now? You’ve already tried communicating with the game, and that backfired horribly. Originally, you thought that consistently trying would be a good use of your time, but are you still sure about that? You’ve tried at least two times now, and nothing’s changed! You probably look like an idiot from an outsider’s perspective, screaming at the screen the way you have been recently.

…Maybe you should try one more time. Your mother used to say you were the stubborn type, and it seems she was right. It won’t harm things, since your previous attempts did absolutely nothing. And it’s not like the Harbinger’s will know what you’re up to… Yeah… just one more time! If you put your hope into this, something will definitely change. And if it doesn’t, you’re kind of stuck on ideas. Man, having a friend or two who cares about you would be so handy right now.

Oh, another thing! You need to get a lock, or find something to bar up the door with whenever you’re in and out of your room. It probably won’t stop them entirely, but their struggle to enter the room will give you enough time to look normal when they force themselves through and not cause suspicion. Childe’s entry was cut way too close this morning. You’re very lucky he wasn’t paying attention to your room due to his own excitement.

You’ll get the lock later. For now, just turn on your computer and leave the game on. Although the idea freaks you out a little bit, perhaps you should also actually play the game whilst waiting instead of just staring at a character staring back at you with soulless eyes. Eh, actually, now that you know the characters are real, they’re probably not that soulless.

The screen flashed a blinding light, before fading into the familiar scenery of Mondstadt’s city with Aether’s back facing you. You looked up, putting down your pencil and reaching over to the keyboard.

Let’s just start with daily commissions. That should be easy enough, right? Ah, but maybe you should add more people to the party first. Your commissions are all in Mondstadt, luckily, so you should probably include Mondstadt characters only. Albedo would be a good choice, and Venti… Hm, just add Fischl for the fun of it. There’s no synergy here, at all, but it doesn’t matter. Your characters are all strong enough to solo the enemies if you really wanted them to.

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... …

Yeah… You’re hooked.

You’ve been playing Genshin for over an hour now, you didn’t even realise your tension easing away as you played the game! It started off as just completing your commissions, then old habits kicking in and completing leylines to get rid of resin. Then you decided to use your condensed resin in artifact domains and–

You’re going crazy.

Time really flies when you’re having fun, huh? Anyway, you should probably stop for now. During the time you were playing, nothing tried to contact you or looked out of the ordinary in the game. It’s safe to assume that nobody is coming to help you from the other side.

…Maybe it was all planned amongst everyone in the whole of Teyvat? The reason nobody’s come to help you is because the character’s are in on making you suffer for controlling them for so long?

No, snap out of it. Think logically, that can’t be the reason no one has come to help you. There must be something blocking them from communicating with you. Something that’s also affecting the Harbinger’s from returning to Teyvat in the first place.

‘This is hopeless’ You buried your head in your hands, the desk’s temperature cooling your forehead. ‘Seems like I’ll have to hold out for as long as possible. Perhaps I could–’

Ding!

‘Huh? What was that noise?’ You raised your head, squinting your eyes at the screen.

Ding! Ding!

That noise… It sounds like the mail notification! You reached for the mouse, your posture straightening and heart rate quickening. You dragged your mouse over to the mail button, clicking on it and reading the notification.

— — — — — — — — —

We can hear you, can you hear us?

— — — — — — — — —

That was the first notification… It says it was sent yesterday, during the time of your first plea for help! Why did it only come through now!? Better yet, why is the unknown writer communicating through the mail system? Couldn’t they have just vocally replied?

And the ‘We’... There’s more than one person who heard you! This is good. Does that mean the Traveller and potentially Paimon are the ones writing to you? Quickly, let’s read another one.

— — — — — — — — —

Why did you walk away? We’re trying to help you.

Could you not hear Paimon shouting?

— — — — — — — — —

Paimon was… shouting to you? No, you didn’t hear her. Yesterday you left because nothing was happening, you were unsatisfied with the results! Was she really trying to communicate with you? Ugh, this is why you need to be patient!

Anyway, this must be the reason why they’re communicating through mail. Their voices must not be able to come through to the real world! Something feels wrong though… The mention of ‘walking away’ is strange. How did they know you walked away? You’re looking too deeply into this, it was probably just written that way as a generic saying without any meaning behind it. They probably just meant that they couldn’t hear you anymore and assumed you left.

What does the third notification say?

— — — — — — — — —

You’re back, that’s great!

If you can see this, it appears we can’t communicate vocally for now. We can hear you, however, so feel free to update us on your current situation whenever comfortable and possible.

We’re working on finding a solution to communicate with you further. The Traveller, Paimon and I are working to gather geniuses all across Teyvat to come up with a solution to our current problem: you. As of writing this, we’ve managed to gather all the scholar’s in Sumeru, Liyue and Fontaine to join Mondstadt’s efforts in research to establish a stronger connection. Although this is a theory, we believe you will be the most important part of the process in figuring out how to return Teyvat back to normal.

Speaking of returning Teyvat back to normal, I should probably tell you more about that other problem too. A problem that has caused almost every nation to join their intelligence together in the first place. Teyvat is currently suffering through imbalances - and nobody knows the reason why. Coming from me, I’m unsure why Celestia hasn’t intervened in the problem. My suspicions lie in Snezhnaya, and from what you’ve told us, I fear I might have been correct. You said the Harbinger’s were with you, beyond Teyvat, right?

Buer informed the rest of us that their existence in Irminsul is becoming more unstable by the day. Normally, I’d have an idea on how to correct the problem and deal with it privately. But this…? This has never happened before in any of the passages of time I’ve witnessed. Nobody can find any of the Harbinger’s anywhere, those who were personally with them claim they saw them just deteriorate from existence!

What’s worse is we can’t even get a direct account from Snezhnaya themselves! They’re violently turning away any messenger from any nation, some returning traumatised. We don’t know what they’ve done, in fact, I personally don’t think they know what they’ve done themselves!

We need your help. And to get your help, we need a more efficient way of communication. I’ll have to end this transmission here, any more words and I fear the machine might overheat completely. Please trust us, and don’t lose hope. We want to help.

-Venti

— — — — — — — — —

“I don’t… understand…” You breathed out, leaning back into your chair with shock bubbling over your limbs.

What did you just read? Is this actually happening? Teyvat is in danger… because the Harbingers left? And Celestia refuses to get involved? Well, that’s not too surprising considering the lore. Let’s read the message again, surely there’s something you’re missing!

You scanned the message again, noticing the time it was sent. An hour ago… Why did all the messages suddenly come through now? What about now changed!? Did they change something? The mail claimed they’d gathered geniuses from all over to tamper with ‘the machine’.

Are they even aware they’re in a game!? From the mail, you don’t think so. You’d like it to stay that way. Keep it professional, Y/N! Stay calm and reply, if what Venti’s saying is true, it could be their entire world that’s in danger. You thought it was bad that the Harbinger’s could potentially kill someone here. But their appearance elsewhere might be hurting their original planet? God, you’re all so fucked!

“Thanks for the reply… even if it was a little late. But you know, I’m happy that we’re now on the same page!” You coughed into your hand, laughing awkwardly after.

“Sorry, this isn’t the time to feel regretful. We’re in trouble right now and I’m clearly not helping. If I understand you right, we need to get the Harbingers back to Teyvat before Irminsul corrupts… no, imbalances further. I’m glad the majority of Teyvat is working through this, the reason I approached Mondstadt in the first place was because of Albedo. I hoped he would have an inkling on how to solve the problem, and now knowing lots of others are helping really puts my mind at ease.”

You closed the menu, watching Paimon bounce about with her usual idle animations.

“I’m sorry I didn’t answer you Paimon.” You apologised, smiling softly. “I was really frustrated with my situation. If I heard you shouting to me, I think you would have really cheered me up.”

“Could you… maybe wave? Or do something that I don’t normally see? I could really use a boost of confidence right now. Not like this isn’t already very reassuring! Words can’t express how relieved I feel at the moment!”

You looked at the screen, watching it begin to glitch and show a dark blue which didn’t suit Mondstadt’s colour scheme. Your whole screen turned into a night’s sky, stars swirling into each other in a warped formation. You marvelled at the pretty display, recognising the almost identical appearance to the Abyss.

That’s… strangely coincidental. You won’t question it for now though.

Eventually, it cleared, and showed Paimon waving with a beaming face. Her expression didn’t show any evidence of what happened to you also happening to them, making you sigh in relief. You waved back, laughing at her enthusiasm to keep doing so. So, this is what Teyvat really looks like? You noted the surroundings after the glitchy screen changed slightly, and the graphics more realistic. Maybe that was all the glitch was? Or maybe it was a sign of Irminsul being imbalanced? You’re not an expert.

Ugh it still looks unrealistically beautiful despite the world becoming less smooth and more detailed. Is your PC even gonna cope with this?? These graphics look insane!

“Alright, alright! I’m happy now. I feel a lot better, thank you… Let me know when something changes, or rather when something develops. I have nothing new to report really, other than the Harbingers have been desperate to also return. I mean, occasionally they’ve told me they felt a bit weird and alienated, but that’s probably nothing.” You put your arm down, Paimon doing the same and giving you a thumbs up.

“Listen.” You spoke in a different tone. “We’ll have to be very careful from now on. I don’t want the Harbinger’s to catch wind of what’s currently happening, nor do I want them to find this PC and realise their predicament fully. They think that there’s still a chance they can return to Teyvat by their means, but from what I’m hearing, there’s no chance when Irminsul has no record of their existence anymore.”

Paimon nodded.

“I’ll keep my computer on for now, so you can keep me updated. I’ll be leaving the room to try and strengthen the security of the room itself since my PC is full of passwords already. Stay safe, Teyvat doesn’t sound like the best place to live in at the moment.”

You turned around and walked away from the PC, opening the door and closing it behind you gently with a determined expression.

It’s finally happened, something’s actually gone your way for once, and you didn’t even have to work for it! Well, saying that, you did have to shout in desperation and cry a bit to get your way, but it all ended well so you’re not complaining!

Although… Why did their connection come through so easily? Surely trying to connect with something not only out of their universe, but also BYPASSING FUCKING REALITY should be impossible? Now that you think about this further, shouldn’t your suspicions be leaning towards Hoyoverse?

Whatever, you don’t know how they did it, and it really doesn’t matter right now. You’re curious, but your questions will have to wait for when you’re finally at a comfortable point where you see no risk of being harmed by the Harbingers.

Now, about that lock…

You opened the storage cupboard in the wall, grabbing the ladder and heaving it out of the small cubby with a grunt. Settling down the dirty ladder onto the clean carpet, you pulled out the supports and picked it up again, positioning it underneath the small door above the top of the stairs. Climbing the ladder with shaky legs, you breathed in nervously before pushing the door upwards.

Climbing through the open door and successfully planting your feet on the firm floor, you left the ladder behind you. You froze when officially entering the attic, noises scattering over the walls. Your body relaxed when you saw a familiar person in front of you.

“Sandrone?” You called out in confusion, hearing rummaging and familiar ramblings echo through the room. “That’s not you I can hear, is it?”

She looked behind her shoulder with a flustered expression, as if she’d been caught doing something she shouldn’t have been doing in the first place. Her rummaging paused, a rusty metal pipe in one clenched hand and the other holding a ring with lots of different keys.

“This isn’t what it looks like.”

“I think this is what it looks like. Why are you in the attic? Also, how did you even get up here without a ladder?” You walked up to her and peered into the box she was rummaging around.

“I didn’t feel like playing house.” She looked away from you, continuing her rummaging when realising you weren’t going to stop her.

“Playing house?”

“The girls were trying on clothes, which heavily disturbed me I dare to mention. I decided to do something useful with my time, unlike Dottore, and see if there’s anything useful which can aid our efforts to return to Teyvat.”

“How on Earth did trying on clothes disturb you?”

“Well, I felt there was a better use for my time. The Captain found this hatch suspicious and asked me to investigate for any danger as he wouldn’t be able to get through the hatch himself.” She retorted, raising a pipe to her eyes and staring at it intently, nodding before placing it next to her.

Why can you just imagine Capitano giving Sandrone a piggyback now?

“Well, since you’ve been searching here already, you haven’t found a lock in here by chance, have you?” You asked her.

“No, I haven’t.” She gave a judgemental side eye. “Even if I had, I wouldn’t help you find it as I’m too preoccupied with my own search. Not only this, but your efforts to find a lock is useless. Do you take us Harbingers as a joke?”

“No! It’s for… self comfort. That’s all.”

“Self comfort?” She raised an eyebrow. “Are you an idiot?”

You shrugged, feeling uncomfortable in continuing the conversation. Sandrone sighed when noticing your expression, before pointing to a box she hadn’t opened yet.

“That’s the last box I haven’t gone through yet. There’s a high probability there will be a lock and key in there. Don’t think for one moment this will help you escape.”

“Thank you.” Your eyes widened. “I can’t believe you actually just helped me.”

“Just be quiet and grateful whilst finding it, you’re bothering me enough as it already is.” She scoffed, purposefully not looking at you to hide her rosy cheeks. “I expect you to help me when I ask for it in return. If you’re truly going to become my partner once we return to Teyvat, we must learn from each other dutifully.”

“I’m sorry, did you just say ‘partner’?”

She violently threw a pipe behind her, the sound crashing across the floor, and narrowly missing you. “Don’t worry about that for now. First and foremost, we must deliver you to the Tsaritsa. I will worry about gaining her permission to have whatever’s left of you when you’ve finished your purpose.”

It’s times like these that remind you these Harbinger’s are horrible human beings. Oh, and that Sandrone makes puppets like Katheryne, and she’s most likely referencing she’ll turn you into one for knowledge. Nice, that makes you feel comforted, these goosebumps on your arms are definitely just from the cold.

“I won’t worry.” You gulped in a quiet voice, using the keys she tossed to you on the closed box and opening it.

Did she really help you without expecting something immediate in return? This can’t be right, there must be something she wants to ask you that she hasn’t revealed yet. She said it herself. She always expects something in return when she helps someone. Oh! Maybe she’ll ask you for a favou–

“Tell me about this world’s technology.”

Ah, there’s the question. There goes your optimism as well.

“What do you mean?”

“A couple days ago you mentioned that the humanity of this planet created new weapons. I’d like you to elaborate.”

“I genuinely have no idea what you’re talking about. When did I mention what and why?”

“A couple days ago. You mentioned. Humans creating new weaponry. With dangerous chemicals. And different minerals. Explain.”

“Uhhh… Where did I mention this a few days ago?” You held back a smile, showing you were teasing her.

“The dinner table.” She was practically sneering, her voice threatening to get louder if you pushed her one sentence further.

“Ohhh, now I remember! Chemical warfare, sheesh, wow.” You whistled. “Yeah, these new weapons are unique because up until that point we’d been using swords and shields. Then we evolved to using shitty guns using pure gunpowder, then suddenly less than a hundred years later we’d evolved to use pure gases instead. And now? Ugh, don’t get me started.”

“Go on.” Sandrone nodded, attention solely focused on your words with her eyes sparkling in anticipation.

“That’s it. That’s the whole elaboration.”

“Excuse me? There’s clearly more reasoning than that!”

“Nah. That’s it.”

“Explain about a few of the specific inventions, don’t be so selective!” She argued. “You led it up to be something much bigger a few days ago, why so stingy now?”

“I can’t really say much, sorry.” You shrugged with a neutral frown. “I don’t know anything about it, truly. You’ll have to ask someone else, like a historian, for help with that question.”

“...You’re lying, I can tell.” She scowled. “I detest liars.”

And you detest your current situation. But beggars can’t be choosers, can they? Even though you definitely think she knows this, Sandrone needs to relearn that life isn’t fair. Here, she can’t threaten those around her using her Harbinger title to get the information she wants. Well, minus you of course.

“I helped you find the lock you were looking for, you’ll answer my question in honesty at once!”

“Pfft, you didn’t help me find the lock. This is my attic, I’ve been in this house longer than you’ve been in this world. Besides, there isn’t a lock in this box.”

“Actually…” She trailed off, physically pushing your body away from the box so she could shove her arms in it. After rummaging for a few seconds, a lock emerged from the pile of metal scraps inside.

“How did you-”

“Inventor's instinct.” She hid her hand behind her back after you tried to swipe the lock from her. She laughed in your face mockingly.

“Now, about that question I asked…” She chided, head tilting sideways.

This bitch! You gritted your teeth. I feel confident enough to tease her once in revenge, when she teases me all the time first, and now she’s hanging the lock against me like a dog!? Who does she think she is, Scaramouche?

“Ugh, fine.” You rolled your eyes, trying to hide your frustration.

You thought to yourself for a while, trying to dig up any information you could remember from secondary school when you learnt about this stuff. Should you just make a weapon up? They think you’re ‘The Decider’, which means y–

Hold on a minute, you forgot to ask Paimon who exactly ‘The Decider’ is in the first place! You knew you were forgetting something earlier! Oh well, that’s something to ask for next time you get a message, if you remember to ask it that is.

Anyway, that’s not what’s happening right now, keep your mind straight in front of you. If you don’t answer Sandrone, you’ll have to find a sturdy lock somewhere else. There’s no way she’ll give it to you if you don’t.

“Well, you wanted something particular, right?” A lightbulb practically lit above your head, remembering a specific piece of evidence from an essay you wrote years ago.

“Indeed.” Her eyes narrowed in warning.

“Let’s see… In World War 1, the janky technology used on the frontlines was very outdated. To combat this, countries began to develop new weapons in an attempt to overrun the trenches at a faster pace with lesser casualties. Of course, talking from the future, this only made the amount of casualties sky rocket. In particular, the Battle of the Som–”

You felt a sudden harsh tug at your hair, causing a yelp to escape from your lips that interrupted your explanation.

“I don’t care about your dumb history.” She seethed, eyes darkening in anger. “This world can rot in the lowest depths of the abyss for all I care. What I care about is the machinery of this decaying world, with its workings and purposes. Stop wasting my time with explanations that lead to nowhere but a readily dug grave for an organic lifeform to claim it as home.”

You trembled in fear, squinting your eyes closed when she pulled on your hair harsher.

“Who do you think you are, testing my patience in a manner such as yours? You’re a nobody, especially considering the type of person you are. Without me by your side, you’re worth nothing. Your only use to me is your brain, and even then 50% of the time it’s lacking in anything convenient.”

A moment passed after that, silence ringing through the dusty room and a light breeze causing goosebumps to erupt on your arms. You opened one of your eyes cautiously to see Sandrone’s staring into your own, widened with shock.

She flinched her hand away from you, looking at it and back at you with her mouth gaped slightly open.

“You…! I can’t believe this, utterly ridiculous! To think that I…, me of all people,” She breathed in and out quickly, stepping back in realisation.

“No. I don’t believe it.”

What on earth is she rambling about now? Is she struggling to come to terms with threatening you directly in your face or something? That doesn’t really fit into her character though… Oh shit, did she realise you're not The Decider or something as stupid as that?

“Enough of that.” She shook her head violently, grabbing her shaking raised hand which touched your hair moments ago.

“Continue, and if you dare mention something meaningless again, I’ll grab more than your filthy hair next time. Oh, and I’ll make sure it hurts.”

You’d laugh at the potential innuendo if you weren’t shaking from fear right now.

“The Germans made a harmful gas called mustard gas, whilst the British invented a new vehicle suitable for combat called a tank…” You were barely able to reply with a strong voice, watching her lips turn into a satisfied smile.

“Music to my ears! Was that so hard? What a good little assistant you are.” She cooed, tossing you the lock carelessly.

You didn’t catch it, the lock landing on the wooden floor with a harsh thud that startled you despite watching it hit the floor. You bent down without a word, picking it up and clutching the lock to your chest. Looking up, you saw her looking down at you with a threatening glare.

“Test my forgiving patience once more, and you’ll face something far worse than a ‘light’ tug to the scalp. Do you understand?”

You nodded silently, worrying your voice would betray you if you tried to give a vocal answer. Sandrone hummed, satisfied with your compliance and fear, turning around and walking back to her own box.

“Now leave me, you’ve already bothered me enough as is.” She didn’t turn back to look at you, loud sounds of rummaging cutting off any answer you might have replied with.

You should leave quickly before you annoy her again. Lesson learnt: don’t bother Sandrone if you don’t wish to be hurt in the process. In fact, just don’t approach her on your terms in the first place. Her patience is miniscule, she barely lasted two comments before blowing up in your face about giving detail.

You thought she’d prefer detail since that’s what she always asks for, what about now was different!? If you didn’t give detail, she’d get angry and blow up in your face about it. Give detail, and she replies the exact same way! What does she want from you!? You did nothing wrong!

The more you try to figure her thought process out, the more your head hurts. Your scalp is screaming at you right now, and she called that a light tug? She practically ripped out your hair! Forget it, the more you think about it, the more you’ll fall into a panic. Forget, forget, forget.

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

Walking back in your room with a sigh in an attempt to calm yourself down, you closed your bedroom door behind you and attached the lock to the handle, making sure that it worked.

It did indeed work, much to your relief. If it didn’t work, you’d have been so annoyed that your efforts from earlier would have been worth nothing.

Now… What should you do? Should you ask about The Decider, to try and get more information on them? But, you just communicated with Paimon not that long ago, it would be weird to suddenly strike up a conversation again. Quickly, let’s write down more questions to ask for tomorrow.

Once you finished scribbling on your notepad, you put your pen down and shivered slightly. Rubbing your arms aggressively, you noticed your goosebumps were still across your arms from the attic. Maybe you should get a blanket and have a nap for a while? You don’t feel like actually going to bed yet, it’s far too early.

Trudging over to your wardrobe with the intent of putting on pyjamas and finding your favourite blanket, you lightly put your hand over the indent and gripped it. Slowly opening the door, you revealed something behind it that definitely wasn’t clothes.

“WHAT THE FUCK!?” You screeched, falling backwards in pure shock.

Columbina’s back was facing you, the girl holding one of your t-shirts to her chest, hugging it tightly as if it were trying to leave her embrace.

“What are you doing in my wardrobe!? More importantly, what are you doing in my room!? Get out!” You screeched again, Columbina turning around to face you.

“Your room is really nice, it’s such a shame you kept me out of it for this long.” She giggled at your bewildered expression.

“Although, now that we’re finally alone after days of waiting, I must ask… How long do you plan to keep your act up for?”

Somehow, you immediately knew what she was talking about.

“What are you talking about?”

“Don’t play coy,” She giggled again, walking out of the wardrobe. “Although I was also tricked in the beginning, don’t treat me like the others.”

How did she… How did she figure it out? When did she figure it out is the real question, what gave away that you weren’t ‘The Decider’!?

“How…?”

“It was easy to figure out.” She shrugged with a lax smile. “For one, you’re extremely weak and fall victim to the other’s very quickly. The extent to you fighting back is arguments, which is not something I’d expect from someone so seemingly strong as The Decider. Which leads me to question your actual purpose in Teyvat.”

“My… purpose?”

“You, The Decider, can see the future. Our future. You take care of and strengthen any vision user you possess in return of using them for combat to aid the traveller’s journey. This is all we’ve known of you for a long time, which is why I was ecstatic to finally have the pleasure of meeting you!” She explained, eyes glistening in excitement.

“However… You were a lot more disappointing to meet face to face than I thought you’d be.” Her eyes narrowed. “Oh, the irony. Did you know that everyone in Teyvat considers you to be one of the strongest? Poor Childe, he was so excited to spar with you.”

Wait… you can save this! She thinks you’re just weak, but still The Decider! This is great, you can indirectly get more information this way if you follow along with her! Just be careful, one ounce of suspicion and she’ll question you more.

“Well, I’m sorry to be a big disappointment.” You rolled your eyes. “Could you leave my room now?”

“I’m not finished.” The tone in her voice changed, sending electric shivers down your spine.

“Now that we’re on the same page, I would like to know the truth to your powers. And also… if you’re a secret fan of us.”

“What.” You deadpanned after hearing her last few words.

“I must say, I’m very disappointed. Never, during our stay here, did I think you’d prefer Tartaglia over me. Rather, over anyone else. Your actions certainly don’t convey that opinion, although, it’s clear your affection lies in harsh truths over sugar coated lies.”

“Okay, now I really don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Hmm, that whale on your bed. It looks quite familiar. I wonder where I’ve seen it before?…~” She hinted, pointing to the plush toy laid across your pillows from where you threw it this morning.

No way. Does she think you’re a fangirl!? Not anymore you’re not!

“Ahhh, you’re referring to that.” You laughed off her suspicious smile. “That’s just a toy my aunt got me a couple years ago.”

“I see. Then, would this allow you to become a bit more truthful?” She covered her unnaturally wide grin with her dainty hand, pulling a familiar body pillow out from under your bed.

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-”

HOW… HOW DID SHE FIND THAT!? FUCK, YOU’RE DEAD! YOU DIDN’T THINK SHE’D CHECK UNDERNEATH YOUR BED! WHAT KIND OF SICKO DOES THAT ANYWAY!? Wait, if she went under your bed… that means… oh shit.

“Why is your first instinct, when trespassing in my room, to look under my bed!?” You covered your flushing face, embarrassed beyond belief.

“Because that’s where everyone keeps all their secrets, silly!” She giggled with a few claps from her hands. “You’re not original you know, and besides, I found a lot worse under there.”

You’re cooked. You’re actually cooked. Goodbye actually okay reputation, goodbye not feeling embarrassed in the Harbinger’s presence, goodbye– yeah, you get the point.

“Anyway!” Her voice pitched higher. “What a nice pillow! Strangely hug shaped, and it’s not new either, I can smell your scent on it. I wonder what could possibly be on the other side, hm?”

“Please no…” You groaned in your hands, feeling your face grow even warmer somehow.

“You put this on yourself when you chose Childe over me!”

“I didn’t even know that you existed before Childe! How can I prefer someone over another when I don’t know the other existed in the first place!?”

“I suppose you have a point.” She put a finger on her bottom lip. “You met Tartaglia in Liyue, right?”

“Yeah, where are you going with this?”

“Oh, nothing!” She waved her arm in dismissal. “I’ve changed my mind about questioning you, I want to do something else.”

…That’s it?

“You’re… not going to tell anyone about this, right?” You hesitantly asked, grabbing her shoulder in a pleading tone.

“Hmm, I don’t know. Should I?”

“No.”

“Then it’s settled, it’ll be our little secret, mhm?~” She clasped her hands around yours on her shoulder, wings behind her head flapping.

“Our little secret. Thank you, Columbina.”

She simply laughed at you before turning around and walking towards your door. She swiped the lock easily with a raise of her hand, the speed so quick you could barely see the movement. You stared incredulously at the metal lock with a clean cut down the middle in pieces on your floor.

“Don’t thank me.” She didn’t turn back around. “I expect to be allowed in your room whenever I want to be in it now!~ You know what they say, don’t you?”

You didn’t reply.

“Huhu, nevermind. It seems you understand what I’m referring to anyway. Bye bye!” She gave a backwards wave before the door closed behind her on its own.

To be honest, you’re not even surprised anymore. You’re just tired at this point. Maybe it’s not too late to go to sleep after all. What a waste of time and effort it was getting that stupid lock.

Still… you should at least do one more thing before you go to bed. Something that would calm you down and not involve going on your PC to play a game. Hmm… ah, you might have one idea. It seems you’ll need your blanket after all.

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... …

You walked through the dining room, passing by the Harbingers who didn’t seem to notice you. Opening the sliding door to the garden, a chilled breeze flew through you and past the doorway, the Harbinger’s heads snapping towards the direction it was coming from.

“Close the damned door, it’s cold!” Childe screeched from the sofa, hugging one of the pillows, with his eyes glued to the TV. He seemed to be watching a boxing match of some kind… well, at least he’s taking his new job seriously.

“I was doing that. You shouldn’t be complaining anyway, you grew up in Snezhnaya.” You closed the door behind you, taking a deep breath in to embrace the fresh air. They never said you couldn’t go in the garden, so you should be fine. It’s not like you could escape this way anyway, the fences are way too high to climb over.

Hugging the blanket around your shoulders tighter, you laid down on the dry grass and gazed up at the stars, their twinkling patterns almost hypnotising you.

“What are you doing here?”

You groaned at the familiar voices’ intrusion and didn't bother looking at him to confirm your annoyance.

“You know, there is a reason I came out here on my own.”

“And there is a reason why I came out here to accompany you too.” Scaramouche folded his arms, looking unimpressed with your decision to come outside.

“To make sure I don’t escape, yeah, yeah, yeah.” You replied.

He didn’t say anything after that, groaning in annoyance to himself before laying down next to you with an unusually serene expression. There was a silent agreement amongst the two of you when you turned to him in confusion, eyes talking instead of words. It seems he wants to join you in looking at the stars, is he just shy to admit that out loud or something?

“I can tell exactly what you’re thinking, get that idiotic cloud out of your head.”

You hate this guy. He had to ruin the mood, didn’t he?

“Shh, I’m busy thinking.” You lightly scoffed in a gentle voice, turning back to the stars and tracing their patterns in your head.

“How rare.” He commented, snickering at your sudden turn to him. “What? You’re looking at me as if it’s not true.”

“...Whatever.”

He was the one to look taken aback this time. “No argument in return, really? You really must be out of sorts then.”

“I can’t be bothered to fight right now. I’m so tired, but my eyes won’t let me sleep. Today’s been an emotional day, and a pointless one without meaning. Every single time I feel like I’m finally progressing in something, something else gets rid of all my progress and pisses me off!” You sighed, closing your eyes.

Well… Apart from the successful communication with Teyvat of course, but you can’t mention that to him. Still though, you’re feeling really shitty right now.

“You went outside with The Knave, and even bought some of your favourite chocolate. That’s one good thing, isn’t it? Ungrateful brat…”

“Yeah, I suppose so.”

Your eyes snapped open, realisation in your eyes. “I was right! There was another Harbinger following us outside! And it was you?”

Good thing you decided not to ask the girls in there for help after all, they might have been killed by Scaramouche once you and Arlecchino left if you had! The more you think about it now, the more your stomach hurts…

“Yes. So what?” He shrugged.

“I just… didn’t think you’d reveal it so quickly. I thought you would’ve kept it a secret or not mentioned it at all, you know, like a normal person.”

“I didn’t care whether you figured it out or not, I didn’t think it was a secret.” He smirked to himself. “I’m also not a person, idiot.”

“...”

“Was that meant to be funny?”

“Shut your mouth, you knew what I meant.” He elbowed your stomach lightly. “I’m now fortunately in a good mood, you should say what you want to now.”

“That’s good for you.”

He sighed again, shaking his head. “Will you stop moping like a saddened sunflower? It’s annoying and starting to make me uncomfortable. And that’s saying something.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.” You rolled your eyes, feeling jealous. “Go somewhere else if it bothers you that much.”

“And here I was, thinking my presence would invigorate you.” He shook his head in disappointment. “Speak. What’s wrong now?”

“Don’t act like you care, I would never confide in you for anything.” You glared at him, the Harbinger gritting his teeth in reply with furrowed eyebrows.

“How dare you…! After trying to be nice, this is what I get in return!?”

“You don’t get it, do you?” You asked him apathetically. “You can’t just expect me to tell you after you order me to, that’s not what being ‘nice’ is. That’s controlling and just making me not want to tell you more.”

“Hmph, you say this, yet you’re not taking my effort into account.”

“If this is what you call putting in effort, shouting when things don’t go your way, you must be tired from putting ‘effort’ in everything all the time.” You watched his expression grow into one of something you didn’t recognise, seemingly letting your words sink into his head.

At the end of the day, Scaramouche during this stage of his life is just an angry traumatised toddler who acts all tough to prevent his gentle nature from leaking out. He doesn’t want to care about anyone again, so he pushes all who talk to him away rudely in hopes they don’t approach him.

To be honest, he alongside Childe are probably the easiest Harbinger’s to deal with. …In terms of getting them on your side at least. Sure, Childe would probably be harder considering his unwavering loyalty to the Tsaritsa and connections with Pulcinella taking care of his family, but you feel as if you could do it.

Scaramouche on the other hand is a temperamental landmine on the opposite side of the spectrum as Sandrone. That’s how you see it anyway, you could be very wrong and offend die-hard fans if you told someone that. Actually, you’d probably offend both Sandrone and Scaramouche as well since they hate each other.

“Stupid. You’re a stupid mortal who doesn’t know their place. Defying one of your kidnappers, as you like to call us, is a dumb idea. Are you asking for death?” He finally answered your small scolding, breaking your previous thought process.

“Maybe I am, maybe I’m not.” You said, voice mellow. “Anyway, could you let me stargaze in peace now?”

“Pfft, that’s what you came out here to do? You could have worn warmer clothes than that!”

“A blanket is enough, I don’t plan to fall asleep out here. Besides, you’re not wearing warm clothes either.”

“How many times must I tell you…” He trailed off before dropping the topic. “Besides, I don’t see what’s so great about the stars,” He commented. “They’re not even real anyway, just because they look different from Teyvat doesn’t change the fact that they’re fake.”

You gently laughed at him. “You just said it yourself, these stars look different from the ones in Teyvat. If you’re really that interested, then yes, these are indeed what real stars look like.”

“I thought as much.”

“If you thought as much, why say it?”

“...”

“What is the focus of constellations in this world?” He ignored your question, asking his own instead.

“Well…” You thought to yourself. “It depends on who you ask, as everyone believes in different things. Some believe them to be the souls of others who have passed on and watch over their families, some believe them to be heroes from legends, some believe them to exist for interpreting a God's will. Some even believe them to interpret human’s behaviour. - Those are called horoscopes.” You listed to him.

“What are the Gods like in this world?”

“It depends on who you ask. Once again, there are many different religions here. Some religions don’t believe in Gods, and focus on morals and ethics instead.”

“...If only it were like that in Teyvat.” Scaramouche grumbled. “Maybe then worshipping the current Archons wouldn’t be as common.”

“Maybe so.” You shrugged, choosing to ignore his clear jealousy. “Not everyone has a religion, you know. Kind of like Teyvat, actually…” You decided not to continue in courtesy of Khaenri’ah.

“So, people can freely choose to worship? Interesting…” He mumbled to himself.

“...What do the stars mean to you?”

“Me?” You thought out loud.

“Yes, stupid.” He deadpanned. “Who else would I be asking, the grass?”

“Ha-ha, very funny. For me, I don’t really know. I’ve never thought about it in detail before, I believe they mean nothing but something at the same time.”

“Are you talking gibberish? You contradicted yourself.”

“I know.” You sighed. “To be honest, I don’t know what I meant myself. I just replied with the first answer that came to mind.”

“Speaking of saying what first comes to mind, this is the first time we’ve talked alone since…” You stopped yourself, not wanting to think about it further.

“Ah.”

“Yes, I think ‘ah’ is an appropriate response.”

“Hmph, I’ll let it slide. What are horoscopes in the first place? I find it hard to believe they can control humans. At the end of the day, nothing can control those greedy insects.” Of course he wouldn’t know what they are!

“They’re a group of constellations that many believe impact a person’s personality and lifestyle. You get one when you’re born, depending on when your birthday is.” You explained.

“Do you have one?”

“Yeah, it’s ‘.....’.”

“And how does that impact your lifestyle? I’m guessing being stupid is a part of it.” He snickered in his hand.

“No!” You argued back. “I don’t know how it impacts me, I don’t follow horoscopes as seriously as others do.”

“Well, aren’t you useful?” He sarcastically replied.

“Your birthday is January 3rd, right?”

“...What the fuck is ‘January’?”

“Oh riiiiight, you wouldn’t call it that in Teyvat since Janus is a Roman god. Think of it as what your birthday would be considered here, I did the calculations.” You sweated, a chuckle escaping your lips.

“Sure, whatever you say.”

“Don’t mock me! Anyway, from your birthday, you’d be a Capricorn… Or would you be a Libra? I can’t remember, I’m more confident in you being a Capricorn.”

“And you gather that from my personality?”

“Nah, I’m talking about remembering when a friend and I geeked about it once for a project years ago.”

“Funny.” He bit his tongue.

“Hey, I…”

“I...”

“The great and powerful Scaramouche hesitating to say something? What an honour to witness such a sight!”

“You’re clearly feeling better.” He narrowed his eyes, not appreciating your comment in the slightest. “For what it’s worth, I’m sorry, okay?”

Huh?

“Sorry about what?”

“I’m not repeating myself.” He scoffed, leaving you confused.

Wait… Is he genuinely apologising to you? This version of Scaramouche, the Balladeer, is apologising TO YOU?? And it’s him confessing a mistake!? You didn’t think this version of him could even say the word ‘sorry’, and yet here you are hearing it first hand! Has he hit his head? Or maybe this world is affecting his machinery?

“Do you really mean that?”

“I guess.” He shrugged, hiding his face from your view. “What’s done is done, I can’t take it back. I only said it to shut you up, you should feel grateful that I said it out loud.”

And grateful, you indeed are. Whilst you’re definitely not accepting his apology inside, you won’t deny this heartwarming act did make you feel better, did make you feel like you’re actually a person in at least one of the Harbinger’s perspectives.

It’s also very clear that he’s hiding his face in embarrassment. If you weren’t shaken up from earlier, you probably would have teased him about this already.

“Don’t tell anyone I said this, I’d never hear the end of it from those imbeciles.”

“Your secret is safe with me.” A smile appeared on your face, feeling a lot better. “Oh, and Scaramouche?”

“...What is it now?”

“Thank you.”

He turned over to look at you again, ready to reply but stopped himself when he noticed you were stiller than usual. He panicked for a moment, placing fingers on your neck before sighing in relief to find you were simply asleep.

“‘I don’t plan to fall asleep’, huh?” He mocked you in a whispered tone, looking up at the stars above him.

The stars… to him, it seemed like a personal audience to the two of you’s conversation, waiting eagerly to see what he’d do next. He didn’t know how to explain it, but these real stars made his porcelain feel strange. Shivers coursed through his body when thinking about it further. Perhaps this is the reason the stars were covered in Teyvat?

Enough gaping at the scenery, he should probably carry you to bed before you turn ill and become more argumentative than you already are. As much as he loves to see you more docile than usual, seeing you give up makes him feel like shit. He doesn’t know why, either, which is the annoying part. If you need him to cheer you up at your lowest, he supposes he could spare his time for you to pick you back up into a stable zone.

And it better just be him next time. He doesn’t know what he’d do if he saw you finding comfort in someone like the Knave’s presence again.

Picking up your body with care, he walked back into the house with your sleeping body draped over his back, your chin resting on his right shoulder. He shut the door behind him and walked through the living room with all the Harbingers staring at him.

“Want your eyes gouged out?” He warned them, clutching your legs tighter to not only control himself but steady you on his back.

“Pfuhu~, Balladder, I can take them back to your room. It must be tiring to hold them up.” Columbina smiled politely at him, doing a grabbing motion with both hands like a toddler wanting to be picked up.

“No thank you,” He also gave her a polite smile, the smile stretching across his face occasionally twitching. “They’re as light as a feather. I don’t blame you for being wrong, and neither would they, you’ve never given them a piggyback after all.”

“Now, now,” Pierro gave a warning glance. “I see exactly where this is leading. Control yourselves, both of you.”

“The Decider is asleep, don’t make too much noise.” Pulcinella coughed. “It’s been a long day for them, going outside must have tuckered them out.”

“They’re not a child.” Scaramouche recoiled in disgust.

“They sure do act like one!” Dottore laughed from the sofa. “No wonder they get along with Childe so well.”

“When will I be free?” The ginger prayed to the skies, muttering soft words.

“We’re moving off-track. Take The Decider to bed, I’m sure they’d rather you go in their room to tuck them in rather than leaving them to freeze outside. Come downstairs when you’re finished, we have a lot to discuss.”

“Indeed we do.” Dottore interrupted him. “Now that we’ve seen they can somewhat be trusted in going outside, I plan to go to the library with them.”

“Might I remind you we can’t read this world’s alphabet?” Sandrone hissed.

“A minor obstacle.” He replied to her comment before continuing. “The Decider will be my translator, I will pick up the rest easily.”

“Enough, The Decider could stir awake and hear something they shouldn’t. Off with you now.” Pierro waved him away, Scaramouche gritting his teeth before walking slowly up the stairs with your added weight.

“Balladeer.” Columbina called out sweetly from the bottom of the stairs. She didn’t wait for the puppet to acknowledge her so she could reply. “You’ll come to regret this, I swear to you, this won’t be the last of our bickering.”

“Hmph! ‘Bickering’, you say? I look forward to the challenge.” He cackled before disappearing at the top of the stairs.

This chapter really came full circle lol

Don't mind the fact that this View is 4 days over the newly proposed schedule. I'm getting used to it though!

I finally got to implement two rivalries, so exciting!!! I'm sorry if some people don't like the parallel situation I made with Sandrone and Scaramouche, I just see them as very similar to each other! Both see each other as what they want to be, and any conversation always ends in jealousy.

...Does anyone actually read these?

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